Crazy Cats Across Tanzania

So we got a nice friend of a friend invite to hang out with some Peace Core members over the weekend. Al and I caught the 7:30 bus into Songea so we could make it to the 10:00 o’clock basketball tournament. We got paired up with “fierce” Eddie for the three on three one and done tournament. Our first round game was against the Wolves, who used a sharpie to draw claws on their fingers and wolf tattoos on the their biceps. They were pretty pumped about the tournament. Luckily Eddie wasn’t so much fierce, but very calm and possessing a silky smooth J. The game was hard fought, and we ended up spending about 75% of the time playing defense. We pulled out the game and were christened the favorites for the rest of the tournament. Surviving a second round scare when Eddie was hampered by a rolled ankle we proved to be the cream of the American basketball player crop in town. After a few good humored complaints about our team only being 33% Peace Core members, we received the bracket to remember our accomplishments.
The afternoon was spent wandering around Songea. The major accomplishment was buying some bikes. Eddie, our teammate for the bball tourney, helped to negotiate the price. My bike is a blaze orange 15 speed Apollo Meltdown. It is a bit small, but it shifts great, and the breaks work, both of which are rare in TZ. Our night involved a talent show, where the peacecore members showed a lot of musical talents, which was really great to hear. Then we hung out, with American music playing. It was great taking a short vacation back to the States for a night.
The next day we said our goodbyes to the PCVs and saddled up our new steeds. It took three hours, and 2 liters of water, but we rode back to Hanga safely. It is nice to travel a bit on our own for the first time in Tanzania. Also we doubled or tripled our contact list on our phones with the numbers of lots of other Americans we can hang out with if we need to get away for a few days.

Later this week…
I learned how to test for malaria and HIV. We had one positive HIV test while I was working, which was a bit of a surreal moment. Also had a great meal including the Tanzanian version of pizza, a fresh salad, and bananas (Sundays have been turning out great).